


American Coney Island

by nachocheese26



Series: The Gangsitter [4]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Happy Hill Family, Mentioned Brio, Ruby wants nothing to do with Rio, Sara Hill is just like her mom too, but he's such a likeable guy, hint of racism, outside of business of course
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-31 06:27:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21098528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nachocheese26/pseuds/nachocheese26
Summary: Stan swiveled slowly on one foot to look at Ruby. His eyes were wide and lips pursed. Then he took a deep breath and nodded slowly, taking a sip of coffee. “So. That’s him then. Rio.”Ruby groaned. “God, it’s like he’s invaded every aspect of our lives.”Then Stan shrugged a little and stared down at his coffee. “Kind of seemed like a cool guy actually…”Ruby stared at Stan. Blinking once, then twice, then a third time before speaking. “What?”





	American Coney Island

**Author's Note:**

> Possible OOCness? Maybe. But at least I've got a Happy Hill Family here. Because they only deserve happiness.

After Sara’s diagnosis, they made this a monthly event at the persistence of Stan, saying he could easily try and push for this to happen weekly or even _daily_, but he was only trying for monthly because he knew exactly the kind of people he was dealing with.

Ruby finally agreed and once both parents had agreed, it didn’t matter what Sara or Harry thought. They were going to go along with it because they had to.

So once a month, when Ruby’s and Stan’s work schedules allowed, they would get up before sunrise, put on some shoes, and drive out to the park to take a leisure walk as the sun rose. Sometimes they talked, other times they didn’t. Often times, Harry would fall back asleep on the way to the park, but they would still get off, Stan holding him in his arms as he slept.

It was just a quiet moment with their family all together without any kind of distractions and before the rest of the surrounding world woke up.

Of course, there was the occasional runner/jogger that would pass by them. And every time, Stan would come up with some kind of ridiculous story of why this person decided they needed to be running before the sun even came up. Most of the time, it was because this person had a sad and/or pathetic life.

This morning, Harry was awake, swaying a little as he walked in between Stan and Ruby. But he still managed to talk, telling them all about the dreams he had the night before and Sara would share her ‘interpretation’ about them.

“When did you become a dream expert?” Stan asked with a small tease in his voice.

Sara shrugged her shoulders, failing at an attempt to appear modest. “It’s just part of the dream badge I’m trying to get. We have to study all the meanings of common dreams and do our best to interpret people’s dreams.”

“And if they come true, do you get a special prize?” Ruby asked, not able to believe this was an actual badge.

“No. I just get my badge.”

Sara went on to explain the specifics of the badge, the design, what exactly she needed to do to earn it, and an estimate of how long she thought she might need.

As she explained, a man jogged past them. Not an unusual occurrence that would call their attention.

“Mommy! That man’s got ‘juicy’ on his butt!”

Stan choked back a laugh before clearing his throat. “And he looks like he’s living his best life too. So you are not going to laugh at him.”

“But you always say that people who wake up this early to run are really sad with their lives.” Sara pointed out.

“Yes, I did say that, but that’s gotta be one confident man that doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him. Besides, it might not even be a man. It might be a woman or someone that just hasn’t decided yet. Right, baby?” Stan asked, looking over to Ruby to bring her into the conversation that she should’ve been a part of as soon as it started considering Harry pointed it out to ‘mommy.’

Ruby hadn’t been paying any attention at all though. Because as soon as Harry pointed out the words, she could not stop thinking about the sight she saw just a few months ago.

Rio, laughing and dancing with the Boland kids and his own, wearing Beth’s ‘juicy’ sweatpants.

There was no way he had actually kept them, and especially no way he would actually wear them out _in public_.

As he ran along the curve up ahead, showing his profile, Ruby stopped.

It was Rio.

Running, without a care in the world, with ‘juicy’ on his butt.

“Baby? You good?”

Ruby blinked to see that Stan and the kids had stopped as well. They were looking at her with frowns. She immediately plastered a smile on her face and nodded. “Yeah. No, I’m great, I just…I think it’s time we start heading back.”

“But the sun hasn’t come up all the way yet,” Sara protested.

“Nope, if Mom says it’s time to go, then it’s time to go.” Stan placed a hand on their shoulders and turned them around, heading back to the parking lot. “Besides, this just means we’ll have extra time to stop for some donuts.”

The protests immediately stopped.

The kids walked just a few paces ahead of them. Ruby couldn’t keep her mind off of the fact that Rio was out, running around in Beth’s sweatpants. And also the fact that, realizing it or not, Rio had passed by her family.

Ruby did _not_ want him crossing over into that area of her life. She didn’t care if he was somehow Sadie's confidant now and the Boland kids _adored_ him. But Ruby was determined that he would never met her family.

She would keep work and life separate.

“You okay?” Stan asked after a few minutes.

Ruby looked over at him again, feigning a smile for his sake. “Yeah, I just got really tired all of a sudden.”

Stan had his jaw clenched though. And Ruby knew that he knew she was lying.

But Stan didn’t press this time, always knowing when to press and when to leave things alone.

And Ruby loved her husband for this. She laced her fingers through his and rested her head on his shoulder. “I swear, I’m okay. I just want to get home already.”

This seemed to put any worries to rest in Stan’s mind.

They walked in relative peace, finally coming up to the only parking lot at this park. Ruby could feel her breath come a little easier, knowing they hadn’t bumped into Rio again and that he wasn’t at the parking lot either.

She was not Beth or Annie and she would not be letting Rio seep into her personal life.

But as they were yards away from the parking lot, another jogger passed them.

Harry gasped loudly. “It’s the juicy guy again!”

Ruby swore she felt an ulcer developing in that exact moment.

There were three cars in the lot, including theirs. And of course Rio had slowed his jog until he walking the last few steps to his car, opening the door and pulling out a water bottle.

Just a space down from where their car was parked.

Why hadn’t she thought that maybe that black Cadillac they parked a space over from might possibly belong to Gang Friend?!

It was too late to turn back now.

If she timed it right, keeping her head down and insisted on driving home, she could maybe avoid being seen by him. He was definitely going to see her family, but so long as he didn’t see her with them, thereby connecting the dots, she was in the clear.

But of course, her kids had run ahead and it was just after six in the morning! How did they have enough energy to run already?!

She couldn’t yell at them to stop because Rio would recognize her voice and look at her with that stupid smirk. She hated that smirk. Annie and Beth did too, but Annie and Ruby shared private conversations in which they determined that it had to be his smirk that Beth fell in love with.

Stan pulled out his keys and unlocked the car. The kids opened the doors, catching the attention of Rio, but he only glanced up at them before looking down at his phone.

And Ruby knew she could pull this off. Things were going good, Rio was occupied and she had just taken the keys out of Stan’s hand and said she would drive.

She would _not_ be like Beth or Annie.

But then, Harry yelled, “Is that Johnny?!”

Harry now had Rio’s full attention.

“Looks like lil’ money’s gonna need a review on stranger danger,” Stan said, giving Ruby a playful nudge.

Ruby didn’t respond, only watching with dread as the scene unfolded before her. Rio, looking at Harry with some confusion. Harry jumping up a little and pointing at his throat. Sara getting out of the car to see what Harry was doing. Rio squatting down to Harry’s level, looking at Stan and Ruby, giving that _stupid_ smirk of his, then turning back to Harry and telling him something as he tilted his head up and allowed Harry full view of his throat.

As they approached the car, Ruby let go of Stan’s hand and lingered back a little. Stan didn’t seem to notice as he approached the kids and Rio.

“Daddy! It’s Johnny!” Harry exclaimed again as he pointed at Rio’s throat.

Rio looked at them again, standing back up to his full height. “What you give him to make him this talkative? Can’t even get a grunt out of my kid this early in the morning.”

Stan laughed. He actually _laughed_ at something Rio said.

Ruby was sure that ulcer was now two.

Stan gave Rio his obligatory guarded look, but Ruby could tell it was only out of habit and not because he actually felt threatened. “Don’t think you wanna know ‘cause he’s gonna be like this all day now.”

Rio laughed.

Ruby wondered if maybe she had dropped into some kind of alternate universe.

Fine, Rio had interacted with her family. But she was going to end it there. She cleared her throat and looked to her kids. “Come on, get in and buckle up.”

“But Mommy, did you see Johnny? Jane was right. He really does live on his throat.”

Yes, she’s seen ‘Johnny’. Multiple times. She usually doesn’t look forward to see ‘Johnny’ or his owner either. “Come on, in you go.” Ruby repeated, still not even looking over at Rio.

“Wait, Jane as in Jane Boland?” Stan asked, looking at Harry with a frown, then up to Rio. “You know the Boland’s?”

Rio nodded, “Yeah, do business with Elizabeth. Oh and her sister and your wife too.” He added it as an afterthought, but Ruby knew it was because just _loved_ to make life difficult.

Stan’s frown stayed in place as he looked from Rio to Ruby.

Ruby just straightened her shoulders and finally looked at Rio. “So are you ever going to give _Beth_ her sweats back?” Ruby asked as politely as she could while placing emphasis on what everyone called Beth.

Rio grinned, enjoying this way too much. “Nah, _Elizabeth_ already knows I’m keepin’ ‘em. One of the most comfortable pair I’ve ever worn.” His phone vibrated and he glanced down at it. Ruby saw a subtle shift in his eyes, a dangerous shift. But it was gone as soon as he looked up at them again. “Gotta head out. Nice to finally meet your family, Ruby.” Then he held out a hand to Stan. “Rio.”

Her ever polite husband shook his hand. “Stan. Yeah, nice to meet you too.”

Then Rio turned around, his head down as his fingers flew over the screen of his phone in response to whatever message came in.

The Hill family got in the car, driving off a few minutes after Rio.

It was quiet, Ruby in shock of what had actually happened, Stan trying to piece together what happened, Harry humming softly to himself, and Sara staring at both of her parents with suspicion.

Stan turned up the radio a little and looked at Ruby. “So…” he started quietly, hoping the radio would drown out his voice for the kids. “That’s him, isn’t it?”

Ruby nodded, glancing back to see Sara staring right at her.

“Huh,” Stan said, nodding and turning his attention out the window.

No one said anything. They pulled up to a drive through Dunkin’ Donuts, Ruby made the order, and then drove home.

Harry grabbed his bag of donut holes and immediately ran for the TV once they came in because the best cartoons were always on this early on Saturday’s. Ruby and Stan went into the kitchen to enjoy their donuts with coffee and discuss what just happened at the park.

But Sara followed them and she leaned against the kitchen island, eating her donut and eyeing them both.

“You’re not gonna join your brother? I thought you loved the Saturday morning cartoons too?” Stan asked Sara around a mouthful of donut.

Sara shook her head, swallowing down a bite. “No. I’m good.”

Stan and Ruby exchanged a glance. It was obvious that Stan had questions. But what could they do about it? They were just going to wait until later, when there was no chance the kids might be around and listening.

Which meant midnight probably.

Sara finished her donut, wiped her hands on her pants and crossed her arms. “He’s part of the reason why Dad went to jail, isn’t he?”

Stan and Ruby stared at Sara. “Um…” Ruby started. It wasn’t far from the truth. There were a lot of people to blame, themselves included. But Rio was _definitely_ on the list of people to blame.

“I went to jail because _I _made a bad decision,” Stan said, firmly and held Sara’s hard stare. “I might have been doing it for a good reason, but it doesn’t change the fact that it was a bad decision. No one made me do it. _I_ made the decision myself.”

Ruby felt herself fall in love all over again with this man standing in front of her.

The answer didn’t seem to satisfy Sara though. She still had her arms crossed and she narrowed her eyes. “He said you ‘do business’ with him.” Sara imitated Rio’s voice and if it were any other situation, Ruby would’ve laughed. “Along with Aunt Beth and Aunt Annie. What kind of business?”

“Boring grown-up stuff,” Ruby lied. “Now go on, get your butt in the living room and let your brain turn into mush.”

Sara huffed, still staring at them with narrowed eyes, but she did as she was told and joined Harry in the living room to watch cartoons.

Stan swiveled slowly on one foot to look at Ruby. His eyes were wide and lips pursed. Then he took a deep breath and nodded slowly, taking a sip of coffee. “So. That’s him then._ Rio_.”

Ruby groaned. “God, it’s like he’s invaded every aspect of our lives.”

Then Stan shrugged a little and stared down at his coffee. “Kind of seemed like a cool guy actually…”

Ruby stared at Stan. Blinking once, then twice, then a third time before speaking. “_What?_”

“I mean, he was just…I don’t know. Not what I was expecting, but then at the same time, exactly what I was expecting.”

Ruby struggled to form a coherent sentence, before finally landing on. “What’s that supposed to mean?!” she hissed.

“Nothing! I mean, he was great with Harry and now all that talk about ‘Johnny the bird’ makes sense now. Also, you did not tell me he had a kid either. How old is he?”

“You don’t need to know because I will _not_ let him do what he did to Beth and Annie.”

Stan frowned. “What did he do?”

“Their kids _love _him!”

Stan snorted into his coffee. “Well, you don’t have to worry about Sara. Lil’ money though? That’s a different story.”

Ruby raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, and you just said he seems like a cool guy.”

“Babe, come on.” Stan set his coffee down and went up to Ruby, resting his hands lazily on her hips and pressing a kiss to her nose. “If you don’t want me to like him, I’m not going to like him.”

”He’s a gangbanger!”

“I know.”

“He’s threatened us multiple times!"

“Mhmm.”

“He’s boning Beth!”

“Wait? _Really_?”

Ruby groaned. She hadn’t meant to say that. “Well, I mean…ugh, I don’t know if they still are, but they did and it’s just…” Ruby shook her head. “Look, I can’t speak for Annie’s or Beth’s decisions, but I do know that I don’t want him to have any part of my personal life.”

“And he won’t. That’s just not going to happen. You know why?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re the best at keeping work and family separate. I mean, we went to _Dunkin’ Donuts_ just to avoid getting them at the place you work.”

Ruby tilted her head a little with an incredulous look. “Yeah, but then the kids still call my old boss ‘uncle’.”

Stan laughed, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “You don’t got nothin’ to worry about, babe.”

* * *

Ruby, in fact, had much to worry about.

Because later that month, Stan decided he was going to take the kids to the park. All week it had been raining, meaning recess at school was canceled and by the time Saturday rolled around, the sun finally peeked out.

Sara and Harry freaked out, acting as if they had just lived through an Alaskan winter. And Ruby had a twelve-hour shift, leaving Stan home with the kids all day.

Of course, Stan was going to take the kids out somewhere where they would most definitely get all of their energy out.

He was not the only parent with that idea.

Stan couldn’t remember the last time he had seen the park this full.

Sara and Harry immediately took off, running for the playground, Harry screaming his head off and Sara going with dignity.

By the time they reached the playground, Stan realized that all benches and picnic tables were full. It was too late to call them back and say they should go somewhere else.

Well, there was one bench that had only one occupant. Most likely because said occupant either glared at everyone and scared them away or he just breathed and scared them away.

It was Rio.

Stan had three options. Go into the playground and run around with the kids, become immediately tired, and then tell them it was time to go home because he was tired. Stand around with his hands tucked under his armpits and still get tired because he’s standing out in the sun. Or sit on the bench with Rio that had a perfect view of the playground _and_ was in the shade.

Stan took a deep breath and began mentally preparing himself for Ruby’s cries of ‘I told you not to become friends with him!’ when she got home.

“Your kid drivin’ you insane too?” Stan asked as he sat on the other end of the bench.

Rio looked over at him, chuckled and nodded, looking back to the playground. “I swear, I thought I was gonna cry tears of joy this mornin’ when I saw the sun.”

Stan smiled. “Which one’s yours?”

Rio pointed to the slide. “He’s the one organizin’ everyone into a single-file line. That’s Marcus.”

Stan laughed, spotting him immediately. At this distance, the only similarity Stan could make out between father and son was the hair color. “What is he? A hall monitor?”

Rio laughed as well. “He likes bein’ boss, but…” Rio shook his head a little. “He’s too nice.”

“How’s he get along with Jane Boland?”

Rio lets out a groan. “God, that little girl walks all over him. Knows exactly which buttons to push to make him do what she wants.”

Stan snorts. “Yeah, that’s normal. Her and Harry get together to play, she the one runnin’ the show.”

Rio grins. “She’s a natural boss. Just like her mama.”

Stan turned to look at him for a moment. Rio was still looking out on the playground, keeping an eye on Marcus, but as soon as Beth was mentioned, a fond and soft look covered his face.

Stan wouldn’t have been able to recognize it if it wasn’t for the hundreds of photos of him and Ruby. Almost always in those pictures, he was staring at Ruby with the same exact expression Rio currently had on his face.

He wondered if Ruby thought Rio and Beth were more than just boning.

Because he definitely did.

They talked a little more, then a moment of silence passed between them. Neither mentioning how women seemed to hold their children and purses tighter when they walked past them. They would see one of the kids do something crazy then start talking again followed by an easy silence. It went back and forth like that for a while. Until somehow, high school was brought up.

Apparently, they went to the same school.

“Man, get out of here!” Stan said, staring at Rio as he finally gave the name of his high school. “I graduated from there. Class of ’96.”

“Damn, just missed you. Started there in ’97.”

“Did you get Mrs. Harpren for biology.”

“Oh my God, I did,” Rio groaned out, letting his head fall back as he remembered. “I swear, that lady probably had like fifty cats.”

“Oh no, it was fifty-four. All rescues and they had their own names and personalities according to her. I forget what we did, but we were messin’ around and the entire class got into trouble, so her punishment was to make us memorize the names of all her cats and draw lines matching the name to the picture of them.”

Rio laughed, throwing his head back again. “She use that orange blush when you had her?”

Stan mocked a gag. “Hell yeah.”

And they laughed and laughed, talking about high school and mutual acquaintances and before they knew it, they were talking more and more with fewer quiet moments.

Of course, all the while making sure the kids were good.

Marcus and Harry ended up playing together, some elaborate pirate-zombie-detective game. Sara had found a group of girls that were playing one of those rhythm clapping games that Stan was terrible at.

Before they knew it, three hours had passed.

They didn’t even realize it until both Marcus and Harry came running up to them.

“Wait, your daddy’s Johnny?!” Harry exclaimed as he and Marcus stood in front of them.

Marcus frowned at him. “No, that’s his bird.” Then he frowned even more. “How do you know his name’s Johnny?”

“Because my cousin Jane’s always talking about him.”

“Oh.” And just like that, Marcus accepted that information and then they moved on to the real reason why they were standing in front of Rio and Stan.

“Daddy, we’re hungry!” Harry spoke first. “Yeah, can we go eat already?”

“All right, go get your sister. There’s some leftovers in the fridge,” Stan said, already reaching in his pocket for the keys.

But then Marcus and Harry shared a panicked look. “But we wanted to hang out some more!” Marcus exclaimed, looking between Stan and Rio. “Harry was gonna come eat with us."

“Nah, pop. You know you can’t do that. Were you plannin’ on invitin’ his whole family or just Harry?” Rio asked.

Marcus looked at Stan. “Do you wanna come eat with us? You can bring Harry’s sister too.”

Stan held back a laugh. “Oh, thanks, yeah, I think it’d be a good idea if I brought her along too since I am her only ride right now.”

Rio didn’t bother hiding a laugh.

Stan looked over at Rio. “Hey, don’t wanna impose on any plans you might have…”

Rio shook his head. “Nah, we were just gonna go get some coney dogs.”

Stan leaned back a little to regard Rio. “Lafayette or American?”

Rio scoffed. “American. What kind of question’s that?”

Stan clapped his hands and leaned forward. “A’ight. We’re gonna eat lunch with them. Go get your sister.”

* * *

Sara reached out to grab some fries that were in the center of the table and popped them in her mouth. She loved coming to American Coney Island. She had been coming since she could remember, her dad using almost anything as an excuse to go.

Straight A’s? Let’s celebrate at American Coney Island. Girls being mean at school? Let’s eat our feelings at American Coney Island. Sunny? American Coney Island. Rainy? American Coney Island.

Sara always thought there was no way she could feel anything but happy while sharing a plate of fries and eating a coney dog.

Apparently, she was wrong.

Sara glared down at her food as Harry and Marcus told a story, Stan and Rio laughing at them and adding their own comments and jokes. She looked up as she chewed, the glare still on her face.

This man, sitting in front of them, was part of the reason her dad went to jail! Why were they sitting with him and why was her dad suddenly best friends with him!?

And she didn’t think it was fair that Rio had a kid either. Because she actually played with Marcus and Harry for a little bit they were at the park before she knew Rio was his dad. And Marcus was fun and he made her laugh and he was cute and Sara even wished for a moment that Marcus could be her brother instead of Harry because she was sure he wasn't as annoying.

Rio was a bad man that did bad things. Nothing good could ever come out of anything he did.

Which was why Sara had a hard time accepting the fact that Rio was Marcus’ dad.

“You good?” Stan whispered to Sara while Harry held Rio’s attention as he told the story about the FBI agent and his boyfriend that came to their house for dinner once.

Sara glanced at Rio, seeing him grinning as Harry told the story. Why did he think it was so funny? It was his fault that even happened in the first place. She looked back to her dad and shrugged, stuffing a few more fries in her mouth.

“You gotta eat more than just fries, you know that, right?” Stan gave her a little poke in her side.

Sara flinched away, not even giving a hint of a smile.

Stan pursed his lips, but he let her be.

“Daddy, can I go get more mustard?” Harry asked.

“Oh, I want some too!” Marcus exclaimed.

It was becoming obvious that these two wanted to do exactly as the other.

Stan nodded, picking up his empty cup and saying he was going to go ahead and get a refill while making sure the two boys didn’t go overboard with the mustard.

Leaving Sara sitting alone with Rio.

Rio tilted his head as he looked at her, wiping his mouth after taking bite of his coney dog. Then he swallowed and leaned back, resting his arm across Marcus’ empty chair. “So you don’t like me.”

Sara looked up at him. He didn’t look upset or annoyed by that. He just seemed…curious. “No. I don’t.”

He gave a little smirk. Sara was annoyed by it. “S’okay. Most people don’t.”

Sara rolled her eyes. She looked to where Stan was with the boys. Somehow, they managed to make a mess of mustard, even though Stan had supposedly joined them to make sure that _didn’t_ happen. She looked back to Rio. Might as well get it out there. “You’re the reason my dad went to jail.”

Rio shook his head. “Nah, _part of the reason_, maybe. But I can’t take all the blame for that.”

And she knew he was right. Because even her dad said to her a couple weeks ago that it was his own fault for what happened. “What kind of business are you even doing with _my_ family?” Sara asked with narrowed eyes.

Rio shrugged. “The kind that if you get caught can send you to jail.”

She narrowed her eyes even more. Was he always this vague?

“How’s your new kidney working out for you?”

Sara blinked. How did he know about that?

He shrugged again. “Your Aunt Elizabeth likes talkin’ ‘bout her family.”

Sara shifted in her chair. “It’s fine, I guess.”

“Yeah? Because if there’s any issues, I can arrange for you to get a better one.” He leaned forward. “But that kidney you got right now and any other kidney or emergency or even bag of groceries your parents gotta pay for? That money comes from the business I got goin’ on with your mom, Aunt Annie and Aunt Elizabeth. And one day you’re gonna end up figurin’ out things ain’t always black and white.”

Sara huffed, knowing Rio had a valid point, but… “That’s not fair,” her voice portrayed her frustration.

“You’re right. The system ain’t fair for people like us, for people that don’t look like the majority. Which is why we gotta do what we can to survive.”

Sara crossed her arms. “But that still doesn’t make any of this fair or right.”

Rio shook his head. “So what you gonna do ‘bout it?”

Once again, he caught her off guard. “What?”

“Yeah, you want there to be change, what you gonna do about it?”

Sara took a deep breath and held her head high. “I’m gonna work in government.”

She had thought about this before, dreamed about it and thought about the possibility. But that was the first time she ever said it out loud. And as soon as she said it, she knew it was going to be true. People might tell her she was still young, she was barely in middle school, there were so much other things out there, but Sara knew. She wasn’t going to change her mind about this.

Because Rio was right.

Rio smiled at her answer. “Thought that’s what you might say. Just don’t forget about the little people like me when you make into the oval office, yeah?”

And Sara felt herself smiling, despite her dislike of Rio.

Stan finally came back, a new mustard stain on his shirt. Marcus and Harry were laughing about something, mustard stains on their fingers and clothes as well. Stan looked between Rio and Sara, raising an eyebrow as he saw that Sara was finally smiling. “You better now?” Stan asked her.

Sara nodded, still smiling as she picked up her coney dog and took a bite.

“Just talkin’ policies with our future president,” Rio said, grabbing a fry a dumping it in Marcus’ mustard, much to the indignation of the little boy.

* * *

They were at the restaurant for almost four hours. Ordering another plate of fries and some ice cream for the kids. They all talked and traded stories and laughed and even Sara joined in, despite saying in her heart that she still did not like Rio.

He and Stan even placed a bet between the two, something about the draft picks that were coming up for the Detroit Pistons.

They finally left, but not before Stan and Rio shaking hands and embracing in the way men usually do. Rio called out to Sara before walking away with Marcus that she had his vote.

“Sara Hill for president, 2044!” Stan announced loudly, making Sara blush as a few people on the street stared at them.

Rio echoed his announcement, making Sara blush even more.

By the time they got home, the sun was going down and Ruby was already there too. Stan turned in his seat to look at Sara and Harry as soon as he turned off the car. “So I’m thinking your mom doesn’t really have to know what we did today.”

Harry frowned. “But I want to tell her that we went to park and got to eat coney dogs.”

“Okay, you can tell her that, but…we really shouldn’t mention who we _saw_ while there. Got it?”

Sara and Harry both nodded.

As soon as they walked through the front door, Harry ran into the kitchen to hug Ruby. “Mommy! I made a new friend at the park! His name’s Marcus and Rio’s his daddy and we all went to eat and Sara’s going to be president in 2044!”

Stan shook his head. He should've known if anyone was going to betray him, it would be lil' money.

Ruby stared down at Harry, a smile on her face, but her eyes wide in horror. She looked up at Stan and Sara walked into the kitchen together, Stan with a sheepish expression and Sara one of indifference. “Um, what’s Harry talking about, babe?” Ruby asked.

Stan’s shoulders deflated a little. “Okay, so we may have hung out with Rio and Marcus all day today-“

“Oh my God.”

“But it’s not like we had a whole bunch of fun or anything-“

“Yeah we did,” Harry said, letting go of Ruby and looking at Stan with a frown.

“Oh my God!”

Stan’s phone buzzed and he pulled it out. He snorted a little at the message.

It was a picture of the bottom of a pair of shoes, smoothed down from all the use. Underneath was the message.

_Planning on using that money I win to buy Marcus a pair of new shoes. Light up’s or Velcro?_

But Stan quickly pocketed the phone and looked back at Ruby.

“Was that him?”

“Who?” Stan asked, feigning ignorance.

“Stan Hill, you are a terrible liar. Was that him?”

Stan pursed his lips. “Maybe…”

“_Oh my God!_”

Sara approached her mom and gently patted her arm. “Don’t worry, Mom. _I_ don’t like him. But he did promise to vote for me when I run for president in 2044.”

* * *

Ruby kicked the dirt underneath her as she gently swayed forward and back on the swing, trying to put the events of last weekend out of her mind.

“Aren’t you two in like domestic bliss?” Annie asked as she moved side to side in her swing. “Why are we still meeting him in the dark out where high schoolers get baked?”

Beth scoffed. “We are _not_ in domestic bliss. We’re just…” She shook her head. “We aren’t _anything_. He’s the one that set the meeting up.”

“God, he’s being so _extra_.”

They finally saw his car pull up. Rio got out, carrying a black duffel bag with him. He lifted his chin by way of greeting and went straight towards the picnic table where they set their own bag of washed cash. “All there?” Rio asked as he began sifting through the stacks.

Ruby rolled her eyes, knowing he was only doing this to rile Beth up.

God, the two of them acted like they were in high school.

“Yes, it’s all there,” Beth responded in a tight voice.

Rio looked up and smiled. “Thank you, ma.” Then he grabbed one of the stacks, pulled out two hundreds and moved to stand in front of Ruby. He held out the two bills for her to take. “Here, give it to your husband, yeah?”

Ruby blinked and took the offered money. “W-why?”

Rio huffed in slight annoyance. “Lost a bet,” he said with a shrug. His eyes lingered on Beth’s for a moment, before he turned and walked away, taking the duffel bag of washed cash with him.

Annie and Beth immediately turn their attention to Ruby as soon as he drove away. “What was that about?” Beth asked first.

Ruby held up a hand. “Oh no, you don’t get judge. _Neither_ of you get to judge.”

Then Annie started laughing maniacally. “Oh my God, He and Stan are besties, aren’t they?!”

"But..._how_?" Beth asked, her eyes wide and making a poor attempt at hiding a smile.

Annie looked at Ruby and Beth, waggling her eyebrows. “Guess double dates are gonna be a whole lot more fun for you two now.”

**Author's Note:**

> So I honestly believe that Stan and Dean were only friends because their wives were friends. Now that they're divorced, Stan hardly sees him. But him and Rio? Oh, they're definitely the type to become friends because Stan isn't technically part of Rio's operation so Rio doesn't have to play the role of intimidating gang leader with him. So maybe they aren't as OOC as I thought?
> 
> Send me prompts on tumblr: nachocheese-itsmycheese.tumblr.com


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